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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister losing popularity, with the crackdown on anti nuclear ptotestors

The plant is a curse not only for us but also our children,”  … “We don’t fear the police. We will go to jail. But we will not allow the plant to function in our soil.”

 “I have always voted for Amma. But now I regret it. She has ditched us. I will never vote
for her again,”

The tide rises against Amma  J Jayalalithaa , Tekelka, 23 March 12, After Jayalalithaa’s green signal for the Koodankulam nuclear plant, the protesters and police are on a collision course, says Jeemon Jacob TENSION IS rising in the coastal village of Idinthakarai, the hub of the anti-nuclear protests in Tamil Nadu.

Around 5,000 men, women and children are camping at the St Lourdes Church grounds to express their solidarity with the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE),
spearheaded by P Udayakumar. They have been sitting on an indefinite hunger strike since Monday.

The protesters are in an angry mood after Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa made a U-turn in favour of the Koodankulam nuclear power plant and deployed more than 4,000 police personnel to counter the agitation..… in Idinthakarai, people from neighbouring villages have
boycotted work to support the protest. “Fishermen from Tuticorin and
Tirunelveli are on indefinite strike,” says Coastal Federation
Secretary Jones Thomas Spartagus. “The police threatened them to go to
sea. But they won’t budge.”….
The government-imposed sanctions against Idanthikarai include cutting
the supply lines of milk, kerosene and essential goods. Bus services
were snapped once the police started moving towards Koodankulam.

“Our job is to ensure that the work inside the nuclear plant
continues. Right now the site is secure and there is no threat of any
protests that might stall the work at the plant,” says Tirunelveli SP
Vijendra Bidari. However, he refuses to elaborate on the heavy
security that has been thrown around the group of protesters, many of
whom are on a fast unto death.
“We will not yield to the pressure tactics. We will continue our
protest here till we die,” says Anton Yesu Arangavan, who had gone on
a hunger strike for 18 days last year as well. Like many others, he
has suspended fishing for the past three days. His wife and two kids
are also present at the protest.

The protests have turned semi-literate housewife Melred Raj, 40, into
an activist. “We are fighting for our lives but the media has branded
us anti-national. We can live without electricity. The plant is a
curse not only for us but also our children,” says Melred. “We don’t
fear the police. We will go to jail. But we will not allow the plant
to function in our soil.”

She is angry at Jayalalithaa for her volte-face. “I have always voted
for Amma. But now I regret it. She has ditched us. I will never vote
for her again,” she says…..
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main52.asp?filename=Ne310312Tide.asp

March 24, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, opposition to nuclear